Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the deceased – or one of you – is buried, there come to him two black and blue angels; one of whom is called Munkar and the other Nakīr. They say: 'What did you say about this man?' So, he says what he used to say about him: 'He is the slave of Allah and His Messenger. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.' They say: 'We knew that you would say that.' Then his grave is made spacious for him, seventy cubits by seventy, then it is illuminated for him. Then it is said to him: 'Sleep,' and he says: 'May I go back to my family and tell them?' They say: 'Sleep like the bridegroom who will be woken by none but the dearest of his family to him,' until Allah raises him from that resting place of his. But if he is a hypocrite he says: 'I heard the people say something so I said something like what they said. I do not know.' They say: 'We knew that you would say that.' Then it is said to the earth: 'Tighten your sides around him,' so it tightens its sides around him until his ribs interlock, and he continues to be tormented therein until Allah raises him from that resting place of his.'"
Describing part of the bliss of the grave and its torment
Explanation
When the deceased is buried, two black and blue angels come to him; one named Munkar and the other Nakīr. They say to him: What did you use to say about this man? They mean the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He says: He is the slave of Allah and His Messenger; I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. They say: We knew that you would say that; then his grave is widened for him seventy cubits by seventy, then it is illuminated for him. Then it is said to him: Sleep; and he will say: I wish to return to my family and inform them of my pleasant condition so that they would be happy and not grieve over me. They will say: Sleep like the sleep of a bridegroom who will not be awakened except by the most beloved of his family to him. Then, he will sleep peacefully until Allah resurrects him on the Day of Resurrection. On the other hand, if the deceased is a hypocrite he will say: I heard people saying something, i.e. that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, so I said as they were saying: and I do not really know if he was a prophet or not. They will say: We knew that you would say that; then it will be said to the earth: gather together and tighten around him. Then its parts will gather around him tightly until his ribs will be no longer in the normal arranged state as they used to be due to the severity of the pressure and the squeezing of his body parts, thereby each of his two sides will cross over the other. He will continue to be tormented in this condition until Allah, the Exalted, resurrects him on the Day of Resurrection.
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